The TOEFL Reading Test Syllabus is designed for the primary purpose of improving the reading skills of a student. Many colleges and universities in native English speaking countries, examine the students, with reading task. It is important to provide correct responses for reading without any interruptions in pronunciation and grammar.
TOEFL Reading syllabus is designed based on the test format, which is applicable for both paper based and internet based reading test. Here in this page we are mentioning the complete guide related to TOEFL Reading section syllabus.
Check: Complete Details About Toefl Exam

- TOEFL Reading Test Format
- Complete TOEFL Reading Test Syllabus
- Basic Understanding
- Pronoun Reference
- Speed and Accuracy
- Learning from Reading
- TOEFL Reading Question Type
- Main Idea Questions, Key Facts (Specifics), Paraphrase Questions
- Reference Questions (Pronoun Reference) and Structure Questions Â
- Except Questions (Unsupported Facts) and Read to Learn Questions
- Inference Questions
TOEFL Reading Test Format
The TOEFL Reading test contains 3-4 passages and 36-56 questions related to those passages. Candidates have to read those questions which are given on the screen. After that they have to respond on the basis of related questions. And 60-80 minutes allotted for answering in the TOEFL Reading Section.
There will be 12-14 questions related to each passage. Candidates would be judged on the basis of their fluency and speed at which the candidate is reading the paragraph.
Section | Questions | Tasks | Time Period |
Reading | 36–56 questions | You need to read 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions. Texts and answer questions. | 60–80 minutes |
Complete TOEFL Reading Test Syllabus
- The TOEFL Reading test syllabus is divided into following parts:
- There are 3 to 5 passages on academic topics.
- Each passage is followed by 12 to 14 questions
- The length of each passage will be 700 words.
Basic Understanding
The candidate should locate the purpose and main idea of a passage. The purpose and main idea could be identified from introductory passage.
Pronoun Reference
There are some pronouns would be highlighted in a passage. Here the task is to identify the nouns referred by the highlighted pronouns.
Speed and Accuracy
Key facts and important details should be located in a very short period in order to answer all the questions.
Learning from Reading
The cause of the events or records is identified to organize those events in a chronological order once the main idea, key facts and relevant details are located.
TOEFL Reading Question Type
The TOEFL Reading test questions are of the following types:
Main Idea Questions, Key Facts (Specifics), Paraphrase Questions
These questions which are asked in the test requires answers which would give what’s the central idea of a passage.
Reference Questions (Pronoun Reference) and Structure Questions Â
These types of questions would ask a student to locate the best position in a passage, where a new sentence could be inserted.
Except Questions (Unsupported Facts) and Read to Learn Questions
Answers to these questions should categorize important ideas in a passage which are created by the students.
Inference Questions
A student needs to find the implications from an author’s point of view Answers to these questions.